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Friday, 18 March 2016

Friday Morning Ramble–18.03.16

So taxing the hell out of foreign companies will encourage them to do more business here? Really?!The Apple Tax – DIM POST

One reason house-price inflation took off: QE.NZ. We may not have had QE officially, but compared to “New Zealand has had the second fastest rate of money supply growth” of all major developed countries – around half of which was borrowed into existence to buy houses.A strange op-ed from a business lobby group – CROAKING CASSANDRA

A new Facebook campaign... if Britain votes Brexit, get Britain into a Commonwealth free-trade zone. “Facebook campaign to get New Zealand to be the first Commonwealth country to seek to strike a free trade and free movement of people and capital deal with Britain upon June 24th, should her people choose to leave the EU.Welcome Home, Prodigal Mum – Andrew Bates, FACEBOOKCommonwealth 'free movement' widely supported: poll – ABC

David Seymour: “If you haven't seen this heartbreaking story, it helps explain why I've introduced my End of Life Choice bill to the parliamentary ballot.”'Rachel should have right to choose' – STUFF

It’s not like the ignoramus hasn’t been answered centuries ago: “Along came Adam Smith and made a different argument, that mercantilism punished consumers and the poor, while rewarding producers and the rich; that imports were a good thing because they raised people’s standard of living by giving them what they wanted at lower prices. With money to spare, consumers bought more things from producers, creating jobs and generating prosperity. If bread was cheaper, people could afford more textiles. Gradually, with the help of David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill, Britain was persuaded of this and by the time Robert Peel, William Ewart Gladstone and Richard Cobden were in charge, Britain had declared unilateral free trade and dared the world to follow.”The Case Against Mercantilism – Matt Ridley, MATT RIDLEYDonald Trump versus Adam Smith- Richard Ebeling, FACEBOOK

“If you listen to Trump’s answers to almost any question about how he will fix a problem, he uses up the first 95 percent of his time explaining, re-explaining and demagoguing about how bad the problem is. (That is, if he’s not talking about polls.) Then in the last few seconds, he says we’ll fix the problem by being really smart or by winning or by hiring the best people. "In other words, he has no idea how to fix it."A Slow-Motion Invasion of the Body Snatchers ... – Jonah Goldberg, NRO

“No one who is as obsessed as Clinton obviously is with gaining power should be trusted with power. Nothing good will come of a Clinton presidency; it will be calamitous, at home and abroad. “But I do understand those who fear Trump more than they fear Clinton. Trump's lack of a political track record makes a President Trump even less predictable than a President Clinton. And while being less predictable means, in the abstract, that the policies pursued by Trump might turn out to be surprisingly better than those pursued by Clinton, in practice such an outcome is unlikely. “Nearly everything spouted from Trump's loud mouth should frighten the bejesus out of sane adults. Build a border wall? “Protect” ourselves from low-priced goods from China? “Rough up” protesters at political rallies? Really? These are the rantings of a thug, not the proposals of a civilized liberty-loving man.”Which presidential candidate will do the least harm? - Donald Boudreaux, TRIB LIVE

“"Whenever you see the inequality gimmick at work, you can be sure that the goal of the speaker is not to end hardships or remedy injustices, but to smash the successful."Bernie Sanders and the Inequality Gimmick – Don Watkins, YOU TUBE

“Today’s right is always complaining that the left holds the cultural high ground and that we need to do more to influence popular culture. But Ayn Rand is the only figure on the right who has really succeeded at it. She wrote some of the world’s most popular and enduring fiction, which has succeeded in the marketplace—for 70 years and still going strong—in the face of unrelenting hostility from mainstream critics."5 Things the Right Can [Still] Learn from Ayn Rand – Robert Tracinski, THE FEDERALIST

“Conservatives wonder why they keep losing to the leftists. It’s because conservatives justify capitalism, individual rights and private property with faith. “God says it’s true!” This makes it easier for leftists to argue, “We have science, reason and logic on our side.” Conservatives apologize for human nature by saying, “Socialism may be ideal, but human nature requires capitalism.” “That’s not so. “Capitalism is great because it enables the best and the brightest to lift everyone out of poverty and because under capitalism, individuals are free to think and reason. Prayer and faith do not create comfort and material wealth...”Governments, Rights Should Be Religion-Neutral – Michael Hurd, NEWSMAX

“But there is no justification, in a civilised society, for the kind of mass civil disobedience that involves the violation of the rights of others – regardless of whether the demonstrator’s goal is good or evil. The end does not justify the means. No one’s rights can be secured by the violation of the rights of others. Mass disobedience is an assault on the concept of rights: it is a mob’s defiance of legality as such." ~ Ayn Rand in “The Cashing-In: The Student ‘Rebellion’” 1965.

“A minimum wage law is a balancing act for politicians. They have to have the wage be just high enough to create a constituency for the wage that will support them but not so high that people who actually vote will lose their jobs...For every two people who benefit from a minimum wage law, one is put out of work. That’s okay if the people who are out of work don’t vote."Oregon Legislature Repeals Laws of Supply & Demand – CATO

“Consider that Arabs wandered for centuries across desert sands that concealed vast petroleum deposits, but it was Western investors who actually made Middle Eastern petroleum valuable. These companies searched for many years in a vast wilderness, moving in frustration from one dry hole to another, risking utter failure and financial ruin. Eventually, by virtue of their ingenuity, courage and perseverance, world markets were flooded with oil that Middle Eastern governments should have deemed private property — 100 percent private. “Instead, those governments muscled in, claiming public ownership based on nothing but their sovereignty over the geographical areas where oil deposits happened to reside.”Nationalisation Is Theft – Tom Bowden, ARI

“Under a proper gold standard, the rate of interest is kept in a band that is not only narrow, but which is also stable over long periods of time. This is the principal virtue of the gold standard. It does not fix the level of prices, which would be neither possible nor desirable. It keeps the rate of interest consistent, which serves the interests of wage earners, pensioners, and other savers, and of entrepreneurs whose work provides the goods, services, jobs, and interest payments, on which everyone else depends (and which they take for granted)."Interest Rate Stability: The Primary Virtue of the Gold Standard – Keith Weiner, THE SAVVY STREET

“St. Patrick's Day in the United States is a celebration of immigrants. … People across the country will be celebrating today the legacy of a relatively more open boarders immigration policy of an earlier period. Between 1820 to 1860, roughly 2 million Irish arrived in the US, most fleeing the famine ravaging Ireland. They came poor, uneducated, and facing prejudice and discrimination. The lesson that this experiment was a strong net gain for America hopefully isn't lost amongst the fearmongering of politicians or the abundance of green beer.”Celebrating Immigration – Emily Skarbek, ECON LOG

“It just came to my attention that if you don't like the group of organized racist thugs known as "Black Lives Matter," it makes you a racist. Who knew? A refresher article for those interested in a response. “I don't like black supremacist groups any more than white supremacist groups. Morally, they should be regarded as one and the same. "The moment you start treating black lives as either more or less important than anyone else’s life is the moment you have become a racist."Do Black Lives Matter ... Or Do Lives Matter? – Michael Hurd, LIVING RESOURCES CENTER

Fairly fascinating look at the origins and use of the language we speak (or try to) every day—and immigration plays a large part! Not sure however whether “fo shizzle” would really constitute part of an expanded vocabulary.25 maps that explain the English language – VOX

“Are you a “worry wort?” If so, then read on. If not, then don’t worry about it — unless you’re worried that you might miss something good….”What, Me Worry? – Dr Michael Hurd, LIVING RESOURCES CENTER

“To understand Ayn Rand’s view that selfishness is a virtue and altruism a vice, one cannot take for granted the conventional meanings ascribed to these terms … “Exploring ARI Campus: Ayn Rand on Altruism – AYN RAND CAMPUS

“This 1967 lecture is Ayn Rand’s flagship talk on capitalism. In it she explains in depth what capitalism is, why it is often misunderstood and why it is the only social system consonant with man’s nature.”What Is Capitalism? – AYN RAND CAMPUS

“Secluded behind a screen of tall bamboo shoots in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, the Kings Road House (above) may be considered the first [American] home ever built in the Modernist style. Designed by Rudolf Schindler in 1921, the architect’s use of tilt-slab concrete construction (highly innovative at the time) and an informal studio layout, set it apart from its contemporaries; indeed, the design would set the tone for other Modernist residential design for decades.”AD Classics: Kings Road House / Rudolf Schindler – ARCH DAILY

See: I really did learn something useful at architecture school: “Architecture school is a peculiar beast. It almost never actually prepares students to be practicing architects, and 90% of what is written by architects and architectural theorists is incomprehensible garbage. But being able to discern what is and what is not incomprehensible garbage is a profoundly useful life skill."6 Phases Every Architecture Student Goes Through – ARCH DAILY

A fourth consecutive win and reported new world record for combined take-off/landing! 20 foot landing, 24 foot takeoff:

Is there anybody who hasn’t seen this yet? New Order on old instruments:

.. And re Rachel's story (6th link), priest Simon O'Conmor who farcically chaired the now disappeared from view euthasia select committee would tell her it was right she stay suffering for his monstrous god.

No one in the MSM has yet covered how the Chair of the committee National - who don't want a bar of this issue - convened to look into need for euthanasia legislation was writing, while Chair, against euthanasia in a Catholic magazine while exhorting his fellow Catholic mystics to submit against. It was for that reason submissions are 50/50, whereas in public poll after poll those for euthanasia are consistently way in the majority. The Chair of the committee was sabotaging it from the beginning.

Instead from the MSM we get reports about Lorde and Kanye West, and the unimportant fllag debate.

A note to EVERYONE , that Peter Cresswell is skating on VERY VERY THIN Ice. Continue Cresswell and I will sue you.This is NOT a GAME.Your vile intimidation threats and politically correct Gutter treatment is in the hands of my Lawyer.

My free speech, without intimidation will NOT be Violated by a Marxist POS , as you are.

You are a TOTAL Disgrace and are NOT a Libertarian .

Anyone whom has read Ayn Rand as I have would be ashamed and disgusted by this mentally ill and unhinged Peter Cresswell whom has shown he is NO friend of Liberty, quite the opposite.Cresswell is a Marxist and a Psychotic Narcissist .

Capitalism is great because it enables the best and the brightest to lift everyone out of poverty

Nope. Capitalism is great because it enables the best - those with capital - to prosper.

"There is no such thing as society" - thus, there is no "everyone". Talking about "everyone" is communism, pure and simple.

So taxing the hell out of foreign companies will encourage them to do more business here? Really?!

UK corporate tax is heading to 10% and then zero. To keep any kind of economy at all, NZ needs to go to 0% immediately. Any chance - let alone of National doing that this budget - but of say ACT even making that simple, common-sense, argument is zero.

Conservatives wonder why they keep losing to the leftists

Cos the leftists shoot us if we try to keep our own stuff. Try not paying taxes or owning guns and see what happens.The remedy is obvious - and the closest we are likely to get to that remedy is TRUMP.

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